Since 2012, changes in higher education funding in England have been driven by a commitment to creating competition. Yet ‘competitive’ solutions to the challenges of funding higher education can be inequitable and inefficient. Drawing on international examples, Professor Dearden will look behind the economics of recent and prospective reforms in England, and suggest some potentially productive ways forward.

Keynote 2: Public higher education in peril? A view from down south

2016 saw unprecedented levels of student protest in South African universities, leading to campus shutdowns and uncertainty over the future shape of public higher education. Yet the issues at play in this situation have some global resonances on the political and economic front. Professor Case will look closely at the response of one South African university, using an exploration of this apparent crisis of legitimacy to ask broader questions around the purposes of higher education.

Keynote 3: Graduates and ‘graduate jobs’ in Europe: a picture of growth and diversification

Despite the ongoing expansion of higher education, graduate pay premiums have held their ground and even increased in Europe over the last decades. But can this trend continue? Professor Green will bring together recent research findings and new microdata evidence to address the question of how the supply and demand for graduates has changed in Europe in the 21st century. He will connect this with trends in under-employment and the rising dispersion of earnings among graduates.

This discussion will take a timely look at the major implications of the rapid political changes taking place across Europe, including the departure of the UK from the EU, for future cooperation in higher education and research. Panellists will focus on the consequences for higher education of the increasingly contentious geopolitical environment, in which some countries and institutions have taken up the gauntlet of nationalism and regionalism.

UK academics and their industry engagements: a bibliometric overview of recent patterns and trends

UK research-intensive universities have become increasingly ‘enterprising’ and university-industry interactions are now an important feature of the UK higher education system. Using empirical data, Professor Tijssen and Dr Yegros will analyse university-industry research collaboration links and cross-sectoral mobility patterns within 47 large UK universities.

International and transnational learning in higher education: a study of students’ career development in China

As part of its internationalisation drive, the Chinese government is actively encouraging collaboration between local and overseas universities. In the last two decades, an increasing number of Chinese students have enrolled in transnational higher education programmes or have gone overseas to study. Professor Mok, Dr Han and Dr Jiang will examine the career prospects of these graduates on their return to China, and what this means more generally for China’s higher education sector.

For-profit higher education in the US: recent developments

For-profit higher education has had an increasingly high profile in the US – but what type of education do for-profit universities provide? Professor Parry and Dr Hunt will focus on the sector’s funding, student recruitment practices as well as the experiences of its graduates and faculty. They will also discuss what the Trump presidency could mean for the future of for-profit universities in the US.

Higher education, economic fluctuations and the question of inequality: a historical perspective

In the wake of the financial crisis there has been a renewed interest in understanding how the expansion of higher education has led, sometimes simultaneously, to significant democratic advances and persistent inequalities. Dr Carpentier will examine the extent to which periods of economic prosperity and crisis might affect, and be affected by, higher education trends by casting a historical lens over developments in higher education and their socio-economic context.

Worldwide reforms in student loans policy

Over the last 25 years there has been a quiet revolution internationally in higher education financing, particularly with respect to the adoption of income contingent loans. Professor Chapman will look at the costs and benefits of alternative loans systems in different countries. He will discuss the shared political and economic factors that contribute to an understanding of international financing reforms in higher education.

Governance – in crisis? Governance challenges across sectors and globally, and their relevance to higher education

To what extent should the governance of universities be considered within the larger context of governance within 21st century societies? As traditional patterns of governance are coming under strain across many sectors globally – in the corporate world as well as in the management of public services – Dr Horvath will consider what this means for future governance in higher education.